Flap folding means for packaging apparatus



June 1969 R w. NERENBERG ETAL 3,451,194

FLAP FOLDING MEANS FOR PACKAGING APPARATUS Filed May 9, 1966 0 O v LINVENTORS ROBE/3T W NERENBEEG & JAMES HSH/VERDEC/(ER,

United States Patent Office US. Cl. 53-374 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Improvements in the fiap folding mechanism of packag ingapparatus comprising flap folding fingers extending from a foldingplate, and adapted to move with the container to be folded whileengaging and folding upwardly a pair of opposing flaps of saidcontainer.

This invention relates to packaging apparatus and has to do moreparticularly with an improvement in the closure flap folding meansutilized in conjunction with the packaging apparatus disclosed inBergstein et a1. United States Patent 2,979,995, dated Apr. 18, 1961,and entitled, Apparatus for Closing and Sealing Lined Containers.

The aforementioned patent discloses a packaging machine wherein linedcontainers to be closed and sealed are delivered to carriages whichadvance the containers through a series of operating stations at whichthe extending liner mouths and end flaps are folded and sealed. In suchapparatus, the infolding of the container end closure flaps is effectedas the containers are moved in a semicircular path of travel, theinitially out-folded closure flaps being acted upon by a series offolding instrumentalities including a folding plate adapted to be movedto a position overlying the opened upper end of an advancing container,whereupon a contoured folding arm lying adjacent the path of travel ofthe container acts to sequentially engage the leading and trailing endclosure flaps and fold them upwardly to positions in which they may becontacted by additional folding instrumentalities which enforce theinfolding of the said closure flaps over the folding plate, whereuponthe plate is withdrawn.

While such apparatus has been in Widespread use, the contoured foldingarm just described has presented certain problems in that, beingpositioned adjacent the path of travel of the containers as they aremoving in an arcuate path, the folding arm of necessity must engagemarginal edge portions of the leading and trailing closure flaps. Suchengagement requires precise alignment of the folding arm and themaintenance of such alignment at all times. Even though the folding armmay be accurately aligned with respect to a given carton, the cartonsthem selves will vary in the dimensions of their flaps and the positionof the flaps will vary depending upon a slight twisting of the containerbody walls or the position in which the container is engaged by thecarriage or cage which advances it through the machine. The net resultof these variations in position is that occasionally the contouredfolding arm will fail to engage one or the other of the closure flaps,resulting in such flap remaining unfolded. Such improperly foldedcartons must be scrapped. Since the containers have been filled withtheir contents prior to the folding and sealing operation, the scrappedcartons and their contents must either be thrown away or else theimperfect cartons manually opened and the contents salvaged for reuse.

A principal object of the instant invention is the provision of improvedflap folding means which eliminate the difficulties heretoforeencountered in apparatus of the character described.

3,451,194 Patented June 24, 1969 A further object of the invention isthe provision of improved flap folding means mounted on the foldingplates which are juxtaposed to the uppermost ends of the advancingcontainers, the flap folding means moving with the plates and acting topositively engage and fold upwardly the flaps contacted thereby.

Still a further object of the instant invention is the provision ofpositively acting flap folding means in the form of folding fingerscarried by the folding plates, the fingers being oriented to movebeneath and fold upwardly the opposing end closure flaps of a containeras the folding plate is juxtaposed to the upper end thereof.

The foregoing, together with other objects of the instant inventionwhich will appear hereinafter, or which will be apparent to the skilledworker in the art upon reading this specification, are accomplished bythat construction and arrangement of parts of which an exemplaryembodiment shall now be described.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of container closing and sealing apparatusin accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a schematic fragmentary perspective view illustratingsuccessive stages in the operation of the device shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the apparatus illustrated inFIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the foldingplate and the flap folding fingers associated therewith.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the manner in which thefolding plate and folding fingers move into engagement with thecontainer being acted upon.

For an understanding of the type of apparatus with which the instantinvention may be utilized, reference is made to FIGURE 1 of the drawingwhich illustrates closing and sealing apparatus of the type disclosed inthe aforementioned Bergstein et a1. patent. As seen therein, theapparatus is supported on a table-like frame 1 mounting bearings 2 and 3adjacent its opposite ends for vertically disposed shafts 4 and 5 whichmount horizontally disposed sprockets 6 and 7 about which a conveyorchain 8 operates in a horizontally disposed flight. Driving power issupplied by the sprocket 7 which is driven through suitable gearing'fromdrive shaft 9 operatively connected, as by means of driving gear 10, toany suitable source of power, which is not shown, but which may comprisean electric motor. The conveyor chain 8 carries a series of interspacedcarriage members 11 which are guided in proper alignment about theconveyor path by channel guide members generally indicated at 12.

The carriage members 11 are each adapted to receive and convey acontainer 13 which will be presented to the carriage at one end of themachine, as at the station A seen in FIGURE 1. The containers, which inthe embodiment illustrated have inner liners, will be presented to thecarriages in upright position with their top closure flaps and linersprojecting upwardly in the maner illustrated at A in FIGURE 2. Thecarriages are each provided with coacting pairs of locking arms 14adapted, upon presentation of the container to the carriage, to engagethe container body walls and secure it to the carriage. For details ofthe construction and operation of the carriages, reference is made toBergstein et al. United States Patent 2,443,293, issued June 15, 1948,wherein the construction and operation of such carriages is disclosed indetail.

As each container 13 is advanced by its carriage, the upstanding linerportion 15 will be contacted by a spreading device comprising a pair offingers 16 and 17 which enter the mouth of the liner and bring it to theflattened and elongated position seen at B in FIGURES l and 2. Inaddition to elongating or spreading the liner mouth, the fingers serveto outfold the leading and trailing end closure flaps 18 and 19 whichare engaged and maintained in their outfolded positions by means of ahold-down bar 20. Simultaneously with the action of the fingers 16 and17, a pair of sweeps 21 and 22, best seen in FIGURE 3, engage andoutfold the remaining end closure flaps 23 and 24.

The mechanism controlling the spreading movement of the fingers 16 and17 is essentially identical to that disclosed in Bergstein United StatesPatent 2,114,622, issued Apr. 19, 1938, and reference is made to thesaid patent for details of the construction and operation of thespreading fingers. It may be noted that the spreading fingers will bedriven in timed relation to the movement of the carriages 11, as bymeans of drive shaft 25 seen in FIGURE 1, which is driven from driveshaft 9.

As the fingers 16 and 17 are withdrawn from the elongated and flattenedmouth of the liner, the liner passes between a pair of closely spacedapart heating elements 26 and 27, seen in FIGURE 3, which serve toactivate a heat sealable coating on the inner surface of the liner,whereupon a coacting pair of pressure wheels 28 and 29 seal together thejuxtaposed and flattened walls of the liner. Thereafter, the sealed endof the liner is contacted by a sweep 30 which folds over the projectingend of the liner, the container thus assuming the condition illustratedat C in FIGURE 2, whereupon the upper end of the container is contactedby a tapered hold-down plate 31 which acts to maintain the upper end ofthe liner in the folded condition and at the same time holds all of theend closure flaps in outfolded horizontally disposed condition. Thesweep 21, which maintains the closure flaps 23 in outfolded conditionduring the flattening and sealing of the liners, terminates as thecontainers approach a position tangential with respect to the sprocket6, and it is at this point that the closure flaps come under theinfluence of hold-down plate 31. The closure flaps 23 are thus freed forpassage thereover by folding plates 32 which, as will be explained morefully hereinafter, are juxtaposed to the upper ends of the containers asthey move in a curved path about the sprocket 6.

As seen in FIGURE 4, each of the folding plates 32 is of rectangularconfiguration, the dimensions of each plate being such that its oppositeend edges will be aligned with the fold lines of the closure flaps 18and 19 and hence provide edges about which the extending end portions ofthe flattened liner may be neatly folded as the closure flaps areinfolded. In accordance with the instant invention, each of the foldingplates is provided with a pair of folding fingers 33 and 34 which arespaced outwardly from the opposite end edges of the folding plate, thefingers preferably being formed from a continuous strip of metal whichhas ben configured to provide an intermediate strap portion 35 adaptedto overlie the plate 32 along its rearmost edge, the strap portion 35being fixedly secured to the plate, as by means of attachment screws 36.The fingers thus project freely forwardly from the rear end of the platein general parallelism with its opposite end edges.

The upper edges 37 of the fingers are inclined downwardly from rear tofront, with the leading portion 38 of each of the fingers lying belowthe plane of the plate 32, whereas the trailing portion 39 of each ofsaid fingers will lie above the plane of the plate 32. With sucharrangement, as the plates 32 are presented to the advancing containers,the fingers 33 and 34 will pass beneath and engage the undersurfaces ofthe leading and trailing closure flaps 18 and 19, respectively, and asthe folding plate advances to its extended position in which it overliesthe upper end of the container, the inclined upper edges 37 of thefingers will fold the flaps 18 and 19 upwardly in the manner illustratedat D in FIGURE 2, thereby elevating the said flaps to positions whereinthey may be readily contacted by the folding means which enforce theirfolding over the folding plate 32.

The infolding of the leading closure flap 18 is effected by means ofsweep 40 which contacts the outer surface of the now upwardly inclinedflap 18, as will be evident from FIGURES 3 and 5. The trailing endclosure flap, which is also upwardly inclined by reason of its contactwith folding finger 34, is infolded over the folding plate 32 by meansof rotary weep 41 mounted on shaft 42 and driven in timed relation tothe traveling containers. The rotary sweep 41 acts as a kicker to infoldthe trailing closure flap. In this connection, the sweep 22 which holdsthe closure flap 24 in outfolded condition, is provided with a trailingsection 22a which folds the flap 24 into a downwardly inclined positionas the container approaches the rotary sweep 41, thereby assuring theunobstructed travel of the rotary sweep thereover. It will be furthernoted that the positioning of sweep 40, which infolds the leading flap18, is such that flap 18 will be completely infolded so that the rotarysweep may also pass over it and, as the container advances, the nowinfolded trailing flap 19 will also come under the influence of sweep40, as will be apparent from FIGURE 3. It also will be apparent fromFIGURE 3 that upon completion of the infolding of flaps 18 and 19, thefolding plate 32 will be retracted and the container will advance alongthe second straight-line portion of the machine for subsequent foldingand gluing of the remaining closure flaps. It will be understood thatthe length of the folding fingers 33 and 34 relative to the depth of thecartons being folded will be such that the trailing portions of thefingers will lie rearwardly of the points at which the sweeps 40 and 41contact the end closure flaps and hence Will not obstruct the foldingaction of the sweeps.

Movement of the folding plates 32 and the folding fingers 33 and 34affixed thereto from the retracted to the extended position is effectedby the pantograph linkage 43 (FIGURE 1) terminating at its lower end ina forked member 44 to which the plates 32 is pivotally mounted by meansof a horizontally disposed pin 45, as seen in FIGURE 4. Since suchmounting means is fully disclosed in the aforesaid Bergstein et al.Patent 2,979,995, it will not be described in detail herein other thanto point out that the pantograph linkages are actuated by means ofactuating arms 46 provided with cam followers 47 which engage the raceof a cam 48 surrounding the shaft 4 and fixedly secured to a mountingbracket 49 secured to an extension 50 forming a part of the machineframe. As will be evident from FIGURE 3, the cam 48 will be oriented sothat the folding plates 32 will begin their outward movement uponalignment of a container therewith, the plates being fully extended bythe time the closure flaps 18 and 19 are acted upon by the sweeps 40 and41. Retracting movement will begin subsequent to the engagement of bothfiaps by the sweep 40'.

Following removal of the folding plate 32, which will occur as thecontainers pass around sprocket wheel 6 and enter the secondstraight-line portion of the machine, the remaining closure flaps willbe infolded and sealed, as by means of the folding and sealinginstrumentalities 51 and 52 which form no part of the instant invention.The closed and sealed containers will be discharged from the apparatusat a discharge station E where the locking arms 14 of the cages will beopened and the containers removed from the machine.

As should now be apparent, the instant invention provides improvedapparatus which will insure positive engagement of the leading andtrailing closure flaps and initiate their infolding. Once the foldingfingers have been properly aflixed to the folding plates, no furtheradjustment is necessary and positive engagement with the leading andtrailing closure fiaps is assured. Minor variations in the dimensions ofthe closure flaps have no effect on the operation of the foldingfingers, nor does slight misalignment or twisting of the containersrelative to the cages in which they are carried.

Modifications may be made in the invention without departing from itsspirit and purpose. For example, while the invention has been describedin conjunction with lined containers wherein the ends of the liner arefolded together with the leading and trailing closure flaps, it will bereadily apparent that the folding fingers of the instant invention couldbe utilized in any apparatus wherein the problem of enforcing thefolding of opposing closure flaps is encountered.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In apparatus for folding and sealing the end closure flaps ofcontainers as they are advanced in a path of travel with their closureflaps folded outwardly, including a folding plate adapted to bejuxtaposed to the upper end of an advancing container to provide asupport over which the end closure flaps may be infolded, said platebeing movable from a retracted position in which it is out of contactwith the container to an extended position in which said plate overliesthe container, the improvement comprising in combination therewith, flapfolding means extending from said plate in general parallelism with twoedges thereof and positioned to engage beneath and fold upwardly anopposing pair of the container end closure flaps as the plate moves fromits retracted position to its extended position, said flap folding meanscomprising a pair of fingers lying outwardly beyond the op- 2. Theapparatus claimed in claim 1 wherein said fingers are formed from acontinuous strip of metal and are interconnected by an intermediatestrap portion fixedly secured to said plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,277,289 3/1942 Bergstein 93442,979,995 4/1961 Bergstein 9344 3,146,566 9/1964 Roth 53374 3,293,82712/1966 Farnow 53-374 3,374,604 3/1968 Roesner 53-374 X 3,389,645 6/1968Winters 53-375 X WAYNE A. MORSE, 111., Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 93-36, 44, 53

